Will Golf In The Olympics Deliver World Peace Too?
/I understand the euphoria over the Olympic announcement and agree with many that it can only be positive. But the fantasies of massive growth need to be tempered.
Not to sound like Hugo Chavez, but the folks in charge keep forgetting that the game as they see it (7,500 yards, wall-to-wall green turf, USGA greens, 5 hour rounds, massive clubhouse) will be tough to export. Ron Sirak touched on this deep in his column celebrating the news:
While golf faces significant challenges in terms of providing affordable, accessible and timely golf, the very nature of the sport offers every reason to be optimistic about its growth. It can be played alone, without teammates, and with a minimum of equipment.
Well I don't know about the minimum of equipment. A basketball or volleyball is a lot cheaper to export than a set of clubs. And it's a lot easier to erect a court than it is a course, especially when the acreage and accoutrements necessary for "greatness" have swollen.
That said, some of the winners and losers in the Olympic golf push...
Winners
Ty Votaw - moved to the top of the replace-Tim-Finchem-whenever-he-retires stakes
Women's golf - a much needed boost in worldwide visibility
Peter Dawson - R&A head man was key to the Olympic push, but inevitable questions about R&A's membership practices will not be pretty
Official World Golf Ranking - system with credibility issues gets a nice boost as the source for determining the Olympic field and will add importance to events where OWGR points are available.
72-hole stroke play - another victory for a format we see way too much of
Players - noted again in the press release that they were the ones behind the decision for a 72-hole stroke play event, even though they are not paid to be visionaries. And you have to figure that player-architects to land some design work in places where they don't know any better.
Losers
Match Play - if ever there was a time for match play, Olympic golf was it
Team Play - A shame they couldn't have worked in a two-person team competition, but the Olympics are only two weeks long.
Official World Golf Ranking - Olympics should draw much needed scrutiny.
David Fay - USGA head man was long in favor of Olympic push, but took back seat to Dawson and Votaw; will have to subsist on $700,000 a year from USGA
Equipment manufacturers - fantasies of massive sales boosts worldwide wil die when they are strongarmed into giving stuff away to help jumpstart game in Kazakhstan.
Fans - I've never understood why television or fans will embrace another WGC event and I still don't see Olympic golf receiving much more than a highlight package in prime time.
